Vic death prompts parole drug warning

The mysterious death of a convicted armed robber in a Melbourne laneway has prompted a coroner to call for an overhaul of parole board access to drug-addicted parolees' medical information.

Robert Jones, 41, of Hastings, died in hospital 10 days after being found unconscious with head injuries in a laneway near a local supermarket in June 2009.

His socks and one shoe were removed and his wallet and mobile phone were missing, and remain so.

Jewellery belonging to a woman who claimed he'd taken drugs with her that day was spilling out of his pockets, an inquest into his death heard.

Jones had been on parole following a four-and-a-half-year jail term for armed robbery, kidnapping and assaulting police, and had a criminal history dating back 25 years with numerous drug, burglary and assault convictions.

He'd been diagnosed with a host of mental problems, from schizophrenia to depression to borderline personality disorder, and despite strict parole conditions had continued a chronic abuse of opioids, amphetamines and alcohol upon his release, right up to his death three months later.

Victorian Coroner Heather Spooner said privacy policies meant the justice department did not share Jones' complete and accurate medical information with the parole board about his drug use.

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As a result, he deceived board officers, dodging urine tests and claiming he was taking prescribed opioids for pain relief rather than the treatment of heroin addiction, she said.

"The way Mr Jones manipulated the parole assessment process raises serious concerns about how many other parolees have managed to exploit the system in order to avoid close scrutiny of substance abuse," Ms Spooner said, handing down her findings on Wednesday.

With no known eye-witnesses or CCTV footage of the laneway where Mr Jones was found, no photos of his unconscious body at the scene and an inconclusive autopsy, Ms Spooner found it remains unclear whether his fatal head injuries were caused by a blow to the back of the head or an accidental fall.

"I am unable to determine the exact circumstances surrounding this incident that led to the death of Mr Jones," Ms Spooner said.

Among her five recommendations, she urged the board to "urgently collaborate" with the justice department to ensure parole officers are briefed on all prisoners' relevant mental health and drug use issues to avoid future deceptions.